Floor alternatives

[das fisch]

Ill be revamping an existing outbuilding this year and going for the state cert here in maine. Unfortunately the building is on piers and I do not think a concrete pad on the subfloor would work. Does anyone have an alternative floor treatment that is suitable for the state maple production certification in maine?

[RC Maple]

I don't know what the Maine regulations say but my building is also elevated taking concrete away as an option. When researching flooring choices I saw where others that went with wood like I did sealed it so that it would hold up to spills and drips and be washable. My wood floor has 3 coats of sealer and that lets me clean it easily. I did a quick scrub and mop during the season and just mopped it again last weekend. I would think the ability to clean it would be what's important. Good luck with your research.

[maple flats]

You don't necessarily need to rule out concrete either. My brother in law has a 2 story garage he built, with concrete floors on both levels. The top floor used a special HD steel for the form, it has an up and down level. From underneath, looking up from the 1st floor, the steel goes flat a few inches, then turns up about 3", then runs flat a few inches and then turns down again. This pattern repeats across the whole ceiling (floor form for 2nd floor). When pouring he put braces every 6'. After the pour set about a week, he removed those braces and used them to frame the 2nd floor walls. This is built on a gently sloping landscape, the lower level in the back has a work shop and 2 single bay doors, the upper has a ramp going up from the ground level on the higher front side into a single door, but inside he has a times parked as many as 6 cars in one stage of rebuilding or another. He likes to buy old cars (30's-early 50's) and restore them, then drive them a while and sell them, only to buy another basket case. He poured the floor 4" thick on the thinner part and 8" on the thicker part of the second floor. It can be done.

[PerryW]

9745
I have a wooden floor but I left an area or ground exposed for the firing pit and evaporator base. I poured a 3'x3' concrete pad to the evaporator base to sit on and reinforced the floor to handle the load of the back legs.

[GeneralStark]

The VT certification is not specific about floor material, but it does specify that it does need to be "cleanable" and I suppose that is up to the inspector's discretion. Gravel is certainly not going to work, and dirt is definitely out. Some kind of durable paint over wood that will hold up over time could work, or perhaps linoleum tiles.

All this said, after one season in my new sugarhouse, I would not use anything but sealed concrete with floor drains for a sugarhouse floor. The reasons to do so are so many that I don't have the time to type them all out. I also suspect that trying to retrofit an existing building with a workable floor will be more expensive and time consuming than pouring a slab and sealing it. Evaporators are heavy, and then add all the drums of syrup you are going to make, a few people and other equipment, and suddenly you need a pretty substantial structure.

Any chance the building could be moved onto a slab? Or you could use the existing building for tank storage, ro space, pump shed, etc...

Without knowing the specifics of your "business plan" it is hard to say too much, but I would certainly advocate for doing it right once.